Information Bulletin

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On Thursday, 14 September 2006, a pilot with the Flying Mission Ser-vices of Gaborne, Botswana, took off from Nxabega with four passen-gers on what should have been a routine flight to Tsigaro. The Cessna 206 aircraft took off at 12:07 UTC, anticipating a short flight with an estimated time of arrival at Tsi-garo at 13:25 UTC.

However, the flight was not destined to be as easy as anticipated. Mark Spicer, the Direc-tor of Operations of Flying Mission Ser-vices states that at 12:50 UTC, he re-ceived a phone call from the RCC in Cape Town, South Africa, reporting a signal from a 406 MHz Emergency

Locator Transmitter (ELT). Decoding the beacon’s digital mes-sage indicated that it was registered to the very same Flying Mission Ser-vices aircraft that had just departed from Nxabega. Mr. Spicer immedi-ately tried to contact the pilot via cell phone, but no response was received. Further calls to the destination air-port were unsuccessful in providing additional information, as no one was in radio contact with the aircraft. Meanwhile, several more phone calls

Bird Strike in Botswana: 406 MHz ELT Alert

Received Within Minutes

POINTS OF INTEREST:

• In 2005, Cospas-Sarsat alert data assisted in 435 distress incidents in which 1,666 persons were rescued. • Since September 1982,

the Cospas-Sarsat Sys-tem has provided assis-tance in rescuing more than 20,500 persons in about 5,800 SAR events. • The 406 MHz beacon

population was estimated at 429,000 at the end of 2005, up 13.3% from 2004.

International 406 MHz Beacon

Registration Database (IBRD)

The IBRD has been operational and running smoothly for one full year, gaining new 406 MHz beacon reg-istrations each month. The IBRD online user interface is provided in English, French, Russian and Span-ish and is available free-of-charge at www.406registration.co m. Cospas-Sarsat can only accept bea-con registrations submitted via this online interface.

The IBRD is not intended to

re-place existing national beacon regis-tration facilities. It is provided by Cospas-Sarsat to allow users to regis-ter their beacons and provide infor-mation that can be of great use to SAR Services in the event of beacon activation. This includes beacon owner contact information, emer-gency points of contact details, spe-cific aircraft or vessel identification data, the make/model of aircraft or vessel in distress, communication equipment available,

I

SSUE

19 F

EBRUARY

2007

Information Bulletin

121.5 MHz Phase-Out 3 System Description 4 Testing Your Beacon 8 INSAT GEOSAR Understanding 8 MEOSAR 10 Chairman/Head of Secretariat Notes 11 Contact Information 12 System Status 5 406 MHz Beacons 7 System Use 6 METOP launch 8 UN/South Africa Workshop 9

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

(continued on p. 9) (continued on p. 2) The pilot of the small aircraft with his unexpected passenger

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The Cape Town Cospas-Sarsat M i s s i o n C o n t r o l C e n t r e (ASMCC) received an un-located alert from the UK’s Geo-stationary satellite station (GEOLUT) at 12:32:21 UTC on 14 September. The beacon’s identification was decoded and the

registra-tion data indi-cated that the aircraft was registered to the Botswana Flying Mis-sion Services. The RCC op-erators were able to use this informa-tion to begin t e l e p h o n e liaison with

the listed emergency contact, approximately 18 minutes after beacon activation.

The GEO detection was fol-lowed by LEOSAR detection at 13:15 UTC by Sarsat-10, tracked by the South African LUT. This detection provided an alert mes-sage which was sent to the RCC at 13:20:05 UTC indicating a Doppler A position of 19 38S / 023 17E with a 91 percent prob-ability. A second LEOSAR overpass of the distress site by Sarsat-8 at 13:15 UTC on 14

September was tracked by the Saudi Arabian LEOLUT at Jeddah, and a resolved position of 19 38S / 023 17E was provided to South Africa at 13:28:44 UTC. A helicopter was sent to the coordinates and was able to reach the site at 14:45 UTC. Within two hours of the emergency landing, all passengers and the pilot were safely evacuated.

Mr. Derek Cooper of the South African Cospas-Sarsat MCC said, “The 406 MHz ELT

car-ried by the Flying Mission Ser-vices aircraft provided the first and only alert in this distress incident. The fact that the bea-con was properly registered allowed search and rescue to proceed quickly, with the first responders arriving on scene only one and a half hours after the emergency landing.”

Bird Strike

(continued from p.1)

were received from Cape Town Radio and the RCC, with reports of receipt of the ELT’s signal. The pilot later reconstructed the incident. About 15 minutes into the flight, he looked up to see a large bird, less than 20 meters away. He said, “I immediately turned left, trying to avoid the vulture, but the bird hit directly into the windscreen on the pilot side. There was a huge blast and I felt a strong hit into my face and my upper body.” He further reported, “I tried to as-sess the situation. About three-fourths of the windscreen was ripped away. There was tre-mendous noise and wind in the cockpit. We were approxi-mately five miles south of Stanley’s airfield. We were continuing to lose altitude due to drag caused by air coming in through the windscreen. Two miles from Stanley’s it was ap-parent that we wouldn’t make it to the field. I saw a flat clear opening with shallow water just past a little lagoon. I cut the power to idle and we touched down with all three wheels. As soon as the airplane touched the water, the plane looped and wa-ter gushed into the cabin. When we stopped moving, we were hanging upside down in our seat belts. My head was in the wa-ter.”

The pilot, after checking the injury level of the passengers, helped all evacuate the plane through the co-pilot side win-dow. He states, “I climbed back into the airplane to see if I would be able to make a distress call. I could not get the radios to work but the Emergency Lo-cator Transmitter (ELT) was beeping.”

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Phase-Out of 121.5 MHz Satellite Alerting Services

Switch to 406! Cospas-Sarsat Participants Campaign to Inform Beacon Users

The International Cospas-Sarsat

System will cease satellite proc-essing of 121.5/243 MHz bea-con signals from 1 February 2009.

The Cospas-Sarsat Council, at its 37th Session in October 2006, reaffirmed that satellite processing of 121.5/243 MHz transmissions would be termi-nated on 1 February 2009. However, Administrations cur-rently forecast that over 100,000 121.5 MHz beacons will still be in service in 2010, after the

termi-n a t i o termi-n o f 121.5 MHz sat-ellite processing. C o s p a s - S a r s a t Participants have been working diligently to educate beacon users on the need to upgrade to 406 MHz models. Austra-lia has one of the m o s t a c t i v e

“Switch to 406” campaigns, following recommendations provided in document

C/S R.010. Australian activities include direct mailings, adver-tising in news media, web-based infor-mation and provision of a new, free help and reg-i s t r a t reg-i o n phone line. A r g e n t i n a

announced a comprehensive media campaign to promote a

change to 406 MHz technology through the web, by publishing related articles in

specialist maga-zines and holding conferences for beacon owners. Chile has used air shows to dissemi-nate information on the phase-out of

121.5/243 MHz satellite alerting services.

A number of countries, like the USA, have issued special

regula-tions removing 121.5 MHz bea-con licences and mandating a change to 406 MHz for certain user categories. Other countries, when no international requirement

to switch to 406 MHz is applica-ble prefer to emphasize the ad-vantages of a voluntary upgrade to 406 MHz beacons. The above table illustrates the defi-nite advantages of 406 MHz beacons compared against the 121.5 MHz analog technology.

Why Switch?

406 MHz beacons have proven superior performance capabilities.

They transmit a much stronger signal, are more accurate,

verifi-a b l e verifi-a n d t r a c e a b l e . 406 MHz dis-tress signals can be accu-rately de-tected within a matter of m i n u t e s . Each 406 MHz beacon has a unique Identification encoded within its signal. As long as the beacon has been registered, res-cue centres can quickly confirm

that the dis-tress is real, who they are looking for and where they should look. This means a search can be launched even before a final dis-tress loca-tion has been deter-mined. Po-sition accuracy means the search area is less than 5 kilometres in radius, which decreases the amount of time SAR teams must search. This adds up to a sig-nificant time saving and a major advantage over the older 121.5 MHz technology.

For more information

Document C/S R.010, the phase-out plan for 121.5 MHz process-ing, is available on the web at www.cospas-sarsat.int under the documentation - reports tab.

Why Switch to 406 before 1 February 2009?

It just might save your life!

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The Cospas-Sarsat System

The Cospas-Sarsat System provides distress alert and location information to search and rescue (SAR) ser-vices throughout the world for maritime, aviation and land users in distress. The System is comprised of:

• satellites in Low-altitude Earth orbit (LEOSAR) and Geostationary orbit (GEOSAR) that process and / or relay signals transmitted by distress beacons;

• ground receiving stations called local user terminals (LUTs) which process the satellite signals to locate the beacon; and

• mission control centres (MCCs) that provide the distress alert information to SAR Services. The Cospas-Sarsat System supports two types of distress beacons: old analogue technology beacons that transmit at 121.5 MHz and newer generation digital beacons that operate at 406 MHz.

121.5 MHz beacon analogue signals are relayed by repeater instruments onboard LEOSAR satellites to Cospas-Sarsat LUTs, where the signals are processed to determine the beacon location. Because of the limitation of the analogue technology which does not allow for onboard storage of the beacon signals re-ceived by the satellites, both the beacon and the LUT must be simultaneously visible to the satellite in order for the beacon to be detected

and located. This restriction limits detection to an area of about 6,000 km centred at each LUT. It is also important to note that because of the low-power, analogue transmission, the 121.5 MHz beacon signal cannot be relayed GEOSAR satellites.

406 MHz Beacon processing In contrast to older generation

121.5 MHz analogue beacons, 406 MHz digital bea-cons are supported by both LEOSAR and GEOSAR satellites. Additionally, each LEOSAR satellite in-cludes a 406 MHz processor / memory module that stores the digital messages received from 406 MHz beacons. The contents of the satellite memory are continually transmitted to Earth, thereby eliminating the need for the satellite to have simultaneous visibil-ity of the beacon and a LUT for detecting and locating the beacon. In effect, after the 406 MHz beacon sig-nal has been received by a satellite, the sigsig-nals stored in the satellite memory are made available to every LUT in the Cospas-Sarsat System, thereby providing complete global coverage.

However, users in distress may have to wait for a LEOSAR satellite to pass into view of their location. To address this limitation, in 1998 Cospas-Sarsat in-corporated GEOSAR satellites to complement the ser-vice already provided by LEOSAR satellites. GEOSAR satellites are at a fixed position relative to the earth, thereby providing continuous coverage of a specific geographic region.

Since geostationary satellites do not move with respect to the Earth, the GEOSAR sys-tem cannot determine the bea-con location unless this infor-mation is transmitted in the beacon's digital message. Many 406 MHz beacon mod-els incorporate a satellite navigation receiver to deter-mine their own position and transmit this information in the distress message.

LEOSAR Instantaneous View of the Earth, a Circle of about 3000 km Radius

ELT: Emergency Locator Transmitter PLB: Personal Locator Beacon EPIRB: Emergency Position

Indicating Radio Beacon LUT: Local User Terminal MCC: Mission Control Centre SAR: Search and Rescue RCC: Rescue Coordination Centre

Beacon Signal Processing

Cospas-Sarsat Combined LEOSAR and GEOSAR Operations

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PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES AND ORGANISATIONS

The countries and

organisations par-ticipating in the operation and man-agement of the Sys-tem are shown in red on the map to the right. The Par-ticipants include the four Parties to the I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o s p a s - S a r s a t Programme Agree-m e n t ( C a n a d a , France, Russia and the USA), 25 Ground Segment Providers, 9 User States and 2 Organisations. In 2006, Cyprus joined Cospas-Sarsat as a User State. Greece changed status from User State to Ground Segment Provider.

Cospas-Sarsat Participants 2007

Algeria Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Chile China (P.R.) Cyprus Denmark France Germany Greece Hong Kong India Indonesia Italy ITDC Japan Korea (R. of) Madagascar Cyprus joined Cospas-Sarsat in 2006 as a User State Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Pakistan Peru Poland Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Tunisia Turkey UK USA Vietnam

As of February 2007 the Cospas-Sarsat System comprised:

• 7 LEOSAR satellites in low-altitude polar orbits (from 700 to 1,000 km);

• 5 GEOSAR satellites;

• 45 LUTs receiving signals trans-mitted by LEOSAR satellites; • 18 LUTs receiving signals

trans-mitted by GEOSAR satellites; • 26 Mission Control Centres for

distributing distress alerts to SAR services; and

• about 560,000 121.5 MHz bea-cons and about 430,000 406 MHz beacons.

Type of SAR Events Assisted by Cospas-Sarsat

(January to December 2005)

EPIRBs 63% ELTs 13% PLBs 24%

The distribution of SAR events by category of events (maritime EPIRBs, aviation ELTs and PLBs) for the period January to December 2005 is presented above.

The detailed status of all components of the Cospas-Sarsat System and recent System use statistics are provided at

www.cospas-sarsat.org.

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The Cospas-Sarsat System assisted in the rescue of 1,666 persons in 435 SAR incidents during 2005. The geographical distribution of all reported 406 MHz and 121.5 MHz SAR events for which Cospas-Sarsat data was used is shown below. Of these SAR events, 274 were maritime incidents (1,408 persons rescued), 57 were aviation distresses (109 persons rescued) and 104 involved the use of PLBs (149 persons rescued).

The 406 MHz system was used in 258 of these events (1,262 persons rescued) and the 121.5 MHz system was used in the other 177 SAR events (404 persons rescued).

Cospas-Sarsat Operations

At its 37th Session in October 2006 the Co-spas-Sarsat Council approved the commis-sioning into the Cospas-Sarsat System of the new LEOLUTs located at Nakhodka (Russia), Callao (Peru), Incheon (Korea), Lucknow (India), Greenbelt, Maryland (USA), as well as the GEOLUTs located at Wellington (New Zealand) and Greenbelt, Maryland (USA).

The new Nakhodka (Russia) LEOLUT was commissioned in 2006

System Use Statistics

Geographical Distribution of all Reported Cospas-Sarsat SAR Events (2005)

The figure at left shows the evolu-tion of use of the S y s t e m s i n c e 1994. Since the beginning of its operation in Sep-t e m b e r 1 9 8 2 through the end of 2005, Cospas-Sarsat provided alerts that assisted in the rescue of more than 20,500 persons in about 5,800 SAR events. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 S AR ev en ts p e r y e a r 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 P e rso n s rescu ed p e r year

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Every year the Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat undertakes a sur-vey of 406 MHz beacon manufacturers to determine the number of beacons that were produced in the previous year. The results are used to predict trends in the beacon market, forecast the beacon population growth, estimate future distress message traffic and manage the 406 MHz frequency band.

Based on the results of the 2006 survey, the Secretariat estimated that at the end of 2005, over 429,000 beacons operating at 406 MHz were in use globally, an in-crease of 13.3 % over the previous year. A closer review of the data shows that the growths varied widely for each beacon type. While the population of beacons used in a maritime environment (EPIRB) has shown a modest in-crease of 6%, aviation type bea-cons (ELT) and personal beabea-cons (PLB) have reached population growths of 30% and 38%

respec-tively in 2005. Beacons with GPS capabilities (i.e. capable of di-rectly broadcasting their position as part of the beacon message) are also gaining in popularity. More than 35% of the beacon built in 2005 had a GPS capability, com-pared with 27% in 2004.

In 2005, over 70 thousand 406 MHz beacons were produced by 32 beacon manufacturers distrib-uted around the world.

406 MHz Beacon Population: A Steady Growth

New beacon models to

operate at 406.037 MHz

When two or more beacon distress signals are emitted at the same fre-quency in the same geographical area, they may collide with each other resulting in a loss of informa-tion. In order to maintain a low probability of repeated collisions, Cospas-Sarsat requires that beacons transmit 406 MHz bursts with a variable repetition period. However, this process has limitations. Eventu-ally an expanding beacon population reaches the channel capacity limit requiring the use of a new frequency channel to maintain adequate system performance.

On the basis of information pro-vided by manufacturers and the Se-cretariat beacon population forecast, Cospas-Sarsat decided to close the 406.028 MHz channel for new bea-con models from 1 January 2007. New beacon models submitted to Cospas-Sarsat for type approval after 1 January 2007 shall be de-signed to operate at 406.037 MHz.

2006 : A record year for beacon approval activity

The Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat has responsibility for reviewing the results of analysis and tests sub-mitted by beacon manufacturers for type approval by the Cospas-Sarsat Parties. Beacon manufactur-ers seeking approval by Cospas-Sarsat are required to test new bea-con models or modifications to approved models that may affect electrical performance. Beacon models that successfully demon-strate compliance to Cospas-Sarsat requirements are granted a Type Approval Certificates (TAC). When previously approved bea-cons are modified by manufactur-ers, change notices must be sub-mitted. Approval is granted after demonstrating that changes do not affect compliance with require-ments. Since 1989, over 175 new beacon models and 140 beacon modifications have been approved by Cospas-Sarsat.

In 2006 beacon approval activities reached a record level, due to in-creased customer demand, price reductions, regulatory changes (ICAO requirements, termination of satellite processing of 121.5 MHz, new environmental regulations for manufacturing printed circuits) and the introduction of new technologies (batteries, GPS receivers, oscilla-tors). Nearly 55% of all beacon

manufacturers have developed new 406 MHz beacons or introduced changes to existing models during 2006. This led to an unprecedented number of new Type Approval Cer-tificates issued (18) and Change Notices approved (23). Early indi-cations are that the trend will con-tinue in 2007.

Cospas-Sarsat is striving to facilitate the approval of improved products meeting the evolving needs of bea-con buyers. Beabea-con specifications are reviewed annually to ensure that clarity and pertinence are retained. Cospas-Sarsat also maintains close coordination with other national and international organisations (RTCM, RTCA, Eurocae, IEC, ETSI, etc.) to ensure consistency and avoid unnec-essary duplications in certification and approval procedures. However, given the current level of type

ap-(continued on p. 8) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 N u mbe r of A ppr o v a ls 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

Beacon Type Approval Activity

New TACs' Issued Changes Approved

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 Est im a ted n u m b e r o f b eaco n s 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 406 MHz beacon population 406 MHz EPIRB 406 MHz PLB 406 MHz ELT

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The Indian Space Research Organiza-tion (ISRO) has been providing a geosta-tionary complement to the Cospas-Sarsat polar orbiting sys-tem for many years, initially with the INSAT-2A (1992) satellite and since 2003 with the SAR pay-load on INSAT-3A. Until recently, this welcome contribution to the Cospas-Sarsat GEOSAR system was not fully ac-knowledged, as no formal document rec-ognised the specific status of India as a contributor to the Cospas-Sarsat Space Segment. This is about to change as the text of a formal Understanding between the four Cospas-Sarsat Parties and India on the integration of the INSAT GEOSAR system into the Cospas-Sarsat System is expected to be signed shortly by all five parties. Although the absence of a formal document did not impact the distribution of distress alerts provided by the INSAT GEOSAR system into the Cospas-Sarsat network, this development should allow for a closer cooperation with India. IN-SAT 3-D scheduled for launch in 2007 will also carry a SAR payload.

MetOp-2, the first of three satellites of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS), was launched at 16:28 UTC on 19 October 2 0 0 6 f r o m t h e B a i k o n u r C o s -modrome in Kazakh-stan. Once in orbit, the satellite took the name MetOp-A.

As for the NOAA LEO satellites of the USA that have been carrying all previous Sarsat payloads, the primary mission of the MetOp satellites is to collect meteoro-logical data. In addi-tion, MetOp-A carries 121.5/243/406 MHz Cospas-Sarsat search and rescue payloads provided by France and Canada and is also referred to as Sarsat-11 by Cospas-Sarsat Partici-pants. The SAR repeaters and processors on Sarsat-11 were declared operational within the Cospas-Sarsat Sys-tem on 5 December 2006.

Avoid False Alerts! How to test your beacon...

Never test a 406 MHz beacon in its operational mode. Activating a 406 MHz beacon, even for a few seconds, will likely generate a Cospas-Sarsat distress alert message that will be relayed to Search and Rescue Services for their immediate action.

How should I test my 406 MHz beacon?

Beacons should only be tested using the self-test feature. Even though this self-test will not generate a Cospas-Sarsat alert, it will consume some of the beacon's limited battery power, and therefore, should

METOP-A Launched Carrying Sarsat-11

INSAT GEOSAR Understanding

proval activities, manufacturers need to coordinate

with the test laboratories and the Secretariat with suffi-cient advance notice during the development of new products or the introduction of design changes to type

2006 : A record year for beacon approval activity

(continued from p.7)

only be used in accordance with the beacon manufacturer's guidance. Questions relating to the beacon self-test mode should be referred to the manufacturer. The contact details for 406 MHz beacon manufacturers are published to the Cospas-Sarsat website.

If you inadvertently activate your beacon in its operational mode, report the details to the nearest search and rescue service as soon as possible.

approved beacons, especially when individu-ally tailored testing procedures are required.

Pictures provided courtesy of the European Space Agency

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and the maximum number of per-sons that might be onboard. Administrations are able to either control the registration of beacons with their country code in the IBRD or authorise users to regis-ter their beacons directly over the Internet. The IBRD is particularly useful when no established na-tional database is available, or when Administrations cannot pro-vide 24-hour per day, 7-day per week access to their national data-base. SAR Services are able to query the IBRD directly over the Internet.

The IBRD is configured to accept, by default, beacon registrations from beacon owners unless the Administration associated with the beacon’s country code has advised Cospas-Sarsat that they operate a national database with a 24-hour point of contact, or that they wish to control the registra-tion of beacons with their country code.

To acquire an IBRD user account, National Administrations should designate a National IBRD Point of Contact and request that the Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat allocate user identification and passwords to their National IBRD

Point of Contact. The request must be provided in writing to the Data-base Administrator using the format provided on the Cospas-Sarsat webs i t e ( w w w . c o webs p a webs -sarsat.org).

As at January 1, 2007, the IBRD held almost 4000 beacon records from 34 countries: Ar-g e n t i n a , A r m e n i a , Brunei, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Island, Comoros, Dominica, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Ka-zakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Libya, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Nica-ragua, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, San Marino, Sao Tome and

Prin-Outer Space Affairs and attracted delegates from Botswana, Democ-ratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozam-bique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

D e l e g a t e s learned the de-tails of the op-eration of the Co sp as-Sarsat S y s te m a n d toured the South Africa MCC (ASMCC). Another highlight included an afternoon aboard the vessel Smit Amandla, which is frequently involved in search and rescue in the Cape Town area.

The fourth in a series of satellite-aided search and rescue training courses jointly sponsored by the United Nations and a host country was held from 20 to 24 November 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. The first such workshop was or-ganised by India in Bangalore in 2002, and was followed by a 2004 US-hosted session in Miami and a 2005 ses-sion in Can-berra, Australia.

The UN/South Africa training was supported by the Department of Transport - South Africa and the United Nations Office for

International Beacon Registry

(continued from p.1)

United Nations and South Africa Host Cospas-Sarsat Workshop

Delegates enjoy a demonstration provided at the South African Mission Control Centre in Cape Town, South Africa

cipe, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tan-zania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tur-key, United Arab Emirates, Vene-zuela and Vietnam.

The IBRD manager, Ms. Melanie Roberge, is available to answer all questions concerning beacon registration (contact [email protected]).

Support Search and Rescue : Register

your beacon!

Twelve countries in the southern part of Africa attended the

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The USA, Russia and the Euro-pean Commission / EuroEuro-pean Space Agency (EC/ESA) have announced plans to include 406 MHz search and rescue repeater instruments on their respective constellations of medium-altitude Earth orbit (MEO) global naviga-tion satellites (GPS, GLONASS and Galileo).

A Cospas-Sarsat MEOSAR system based upon these constellations would provide near instantaneous global coverage, an accurate inde-pendent beacon locating capability

(i.e. no reliance on a navigation receiver in the beacon to determine location), and robust beacon-to-satellite

communi-cation links. Fur-thermore, because of the number of satellites planned and the characteris-tics of their me-dium altitude earth o r b i t s , t h e MEOSAR system would provide high levels of redun-dancy and resis-tance against bea-c o n - t o - s a t e l l i t e blockages.

Preliminary testing using 6 proto-type payloads on GPS satellites and MEOLUTs in Canada and the USA commenced in early 2006. Plans are in place for additional proof of concept payloads to be

launched and for prototype MEO-LUTs to be installed in Europe and Russia. The first Glonass and Galileo satel-lites with 406 MHz SAR payloads are scheduled to be launched in 2008. A detailed description of the plans and schedule for the develop-ment of an operational Cospas-Sarsat MEOSAR system is pro-vided in the Cospas-Sarsat MEOSAR Implementation Plan (document C/S R.012), which can be downloaded free of charge at

www.cospas-sarsat.org.

In Russia, the development of a MEOLUT capable of proc-essing S-band signals from DASS proof-of-concept satel-lites, as well as L-band signals from SAR/Glonass and SAR/ Galileo satellites has begun. Prototypes of 406 MHz and L-band antennas for the Glonass-K satellites have been suc-cessfully tested. A full constellation of the Glonass satellites for the Russian global navigation system is expected to be in place by 2009 and by 2017, the operational constellation will consist of 24 Glonass-K satellites. The Russian Federation is currently investigating the number of transponders in the Glonass constellation required to satisfy the MEOSAR mis-sion.

System Development: MEOSAR

The MEOSAR constellation will include GPS, Galileo and GLONASS satellites

MEOSAR will provide robust beacon-to-satellite communication links and a

high level of satellite redundancy and availability

MEOSAR Declaration of Intent

Status of SAR/Glonass system

In December 2006, a formal Declaration of Intent for

Co-operation on the Development and Evaluation of the MEOSAR Satellite System was signed by the Galileo Joint Undertaking and the Cooperating Agencies of the Parties to the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme Agreement (ICSPA), i.e. Canada, France, Russia and the USA.

The co-operation between Cospas-Sarsat and the providers of global navigation satellite systems in the USA, Russia and Europe who will host the MEOSAR satellite payloads has been effective for several years. The providers have been working towards a common goal of ensuring the compatibil-ity of the future MEOSAR system with the Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz system, i.e. existing 406 MHz beacons, and the “interoperability” of various MEOSAR components, i.e. the capability for a ground receiving station (MEOLUT) to proc-ess signals relayed by any MEO satellite, independently of the constellation to which it belongs.

These efforts have been fruitful and resulted in the develop-ment of the Cospas-Sarsat 406 MHz MEOSAR Impledevelop-menta- Implementa-tion Plan (MIP), approved by the Council in 2004. How-ever, to move to the next phase of the plan, namely the joint Demonstration and Evaluation (D&E) of the MEOSAR sys-tem with a variety of space and ground segment components, it became clear that some form of official co-operation had to be established. With Russia and the USA already Parties to the ICSPA, Cospas-Sarsat was the natural vehicle of the cooperation with DASS and SAR/Glonass. For SAR/ Galileo, the relationship between Cospas-Sarsat and the European authority representing Galileo required official recognition in a new instrument. The MEOSAR Declaration

of Intent will serve this purpose, at least for the D&E phase of the MEOSAR system.

The D&E phase will be open to all countries that participate in the Cospas-Sarsat Programme. However, D&E activities must be coordinated with the expected deployment of the MEOSAR space segment. At the present time, only a lim-ited number of DASS proof-of-concept satellites are avail-able. They provide for the early exploration of the perform-ance characteristics of the MEOSAR concept and a more precise definition of basic requirements for the ground seg-ment. The D&E will require a much larger number of satel-lites equipped with SAR payloads and a number of MEO-LUTs spread around the world. The current target period for the MEOSAR D&E is 2009-2012. To achieve this, D&E planning will become a major activity for Cospas-Sarsat in forthcoming years.

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craft which had disappeared two months earlier. Despite lengthy searches, the first crashed aircraft was never located. The second aircraft’s 121.5 MHz ELT signal, relayed by Cospas-1, was located by the Canadian ground station in Ottawa only hours after the crash, demonstrating the con-siderable potential of the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system.

Twenty five years later, a new beacon technology at 406 MHz is the interna-tional standard for satellite distress alerting. A decision has been made to terminate on 1 February 2009 the sat-ellite processing of 121.5 MHz bea-cons (see feature on page 3) and users are invited to switch to 406 MHz bea-cons, which exhibit enhanced perform-ance characteristics.

Because of the large number of 121.5 MHz beacons still in use, there is a sense of urgency in Cospas-Sarsat’s invitation to Administrations and users to “Switch to 406”.

However, Cospas-Sarsat is also

pre-paring for future system evolution. A small but significant milestone was reached at the end of 2006, with the signing of a formal Declaration of Intent to cooperate on the development of the 406 MHz MEOSAR system by the Cooperating Agencies of the Co-spas-Sarsat Parties and the Galileo Joint Undertaking. Preliminary trials of the MEOSAR concept are very encouraging, as illustrated on page 10, but further efforts will be required by all Participants in Cospas-Sarsat to continue with the development of the MEOSAR system and perform a com-plete demonstration and evaluation of its performance.

The celebration in 2007 of 25 years of successful operation of the Cospas-Sarsat system should also be an incen-tive to prepare for the forthcoming transitions, with a view to continuing the provision of effective and timely distress alerting to SAR authorities worldwide.

The first satellite carrying a SAR in-strument, Cospas-1, was launched in June 1982 and the first SAR operation assisted by Cospas-Sarsat alert data followed shortly thereafter on 10 Sep-tember 1982. This operation resulted in the rescue of three persons whose Cessna 172 aircraft had crashed in British Columbia, Canada. The Cessna had been privately chartered by the father of the pilot of another

air-As we reflect on the events of the past year and begin contemplating our work for the upcoming year I’m re-minded of the constant state of change that Cospas-Sarsat is in. It seems there are always new challenges before us and new paths for us to forge. In 2006 we saw our membership expand to 38 countries and 2 organizations. We also concluded instruments of coop-eration with the European Galileo Joint Undertaking and India to help build and sustain our space segment. While the organization continues to grow it is also evolving. During the past six years – a short time in the life of an international organization – we have:

- decided to phase out satellite proc-essing of 121.5 MHz emergency bea-cons;

- modified our specifications to allow for lower cost beacons;

- expanded our user base to allow for ship security alerting system beacons; - taken significant strides to protect our frequency spectrum;

- moved our organization to Montreal, Canada and established a legal status

for our Secretariat; and

- implemented an international regis-tration beacon database to assist States in meeting their ICAO/IMO obliga-tions.

Still, we’re not done. We are now in the process of developing a quality management system to ensure that our critical services continue to meet the expectations of the search and rescue community, and we are preparing for the introduction of the MEOSAR sys-tem that will dramatically improve the critical service we provide. The Brit-ish naturalist, Charles Darwin, once said “It is not the strongest of the spe-cies that survives, nor the most intelli-gent, but the one most responsive to change.” This is germane to Cospas-Sarsat, which should count among its strengths its ability to respond to exter-nal factors and adapt and transform itself to meet its mission and the needs of its customers and stakeholders.

While some of the credit for this agil-ity belongs to the organization and the Agreements under which we operate, most of it belongs to the individuals

A Note from the 2006 Council Chairman

from the National Administrations and the Secretariat who are involved in the management and operation of the pro-gram. Without their dedication and hard work it would not have been pos-sible to accomplish all that Cospas-Sarsat has. It is this commitment, flexibility, and vision, and the fact that we all share a common goal - to save lives - that will help ensure that Co-spas-Sarsat will continue to meet chal-lenges and stay relevant in the future. I look forward to the upcoming year, especially celebrating the 25 years of success that Cospas-Sarsat has en-joyed.

A Note from the Head of Secretariat

Daniel Levesque

Head, Cospas-Sarsat Secretariat

Ajay Mehta, United States Cospas-Sarsat Representative

(12)

The Cospas-Sarsat satellite system was initially developed under a 1979 Memorandum of Understanding among Agencies of the former USSR, USA, Canada and France. The Cospas-Sarsat Low-altitude Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite system for search and rescue (LEOSAR) has been in opera-tion since 1982 and was complemented in 1998 with geostaopera-tionary satellites

(GEOSAR).

Cospas-Sarsat provides global distress alerting free of charge to the user in distress. Participants include the four Parties to the Cospas-Sarsat

Inter-national Programme Agreement (Canada, France,

Russia and the USA), 25 Ground Segment Providers, 9 User States and 2 Organisations.

700 de la Gauchetière Ouest Suite 2450 Montréal, Québec, Canada

H3B 5M2

Programme

SECRETARIAT CONTACT INFORMATION

Central phone line: +1 514 954 6761

General enquiries email: [email protected] Phone: +1 514 954 6761

Fax: +1 514 954 6750 Email: [email protected]

International Satellite System for Search and Rescue

Mission Statement:

The Cospas-Sarsat Programme assists search and rescue (SAR) activities on a worldwide basis by providing accurate, timely, and reliable distress alert and location data to the international com-munity on a non-discriminatory basis.

Objective:

The objective of the Cospas-Sarsat system is to reduce, as far as possible, delays in the provision of distress alerts to SAR services, and the time required to locate a distress and provide assis-tance, which have a direct impact on the probability of survival of the person in distress at sea or on land.

Strategy:

To achieve this objective, Cospas-Sarsat Participants implement, main-tain, co-ordinate and operate a satellite system capable of detecting distress alert transmissions from radiobeacons that comply with Cospas-Sarsat specifi-cations and performance standards, and of determining their position anywhere on the globe. The distress alert and location data is provided by Cospas-Sarsat Participants to the responsible SAR services.

Cospas-Sarsat co-operates with the International Civil Aviation Organiza-tion, the International Maritime Organi-zation, the International Telecommuni-cation Union and other international organisations to ensure the compatibil-ity of the Cospas-Sarsat distress alert-ing services with the needs, the stan-dards and the applicable recommenda-tions of the international community.

General Information Diane Hacker

[email protected]

Conference Services Hannah Bermudez

[email protected]

International Beacon Registration Database

Melanie Roberge

[email protected] Technical matters (specifications,

beacon type approval, etc.)

Dany St-Pierre

Principal Technical Officer [email protected]

Andryey Zhitenev Technical Officer

[email protected]